Storage peripheral having a robust serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) PCB connector

ABSTRACT

A storage peripheral, such as disk drive, having a robust PCB connector configured in accordance with a SATA standard. The disk drive has a disk, a disk controller system, and a PCB for mounting the disk controller system, and a housing attached to the PCB. A first electrical contact arrangement in accordance with a SATA standard is connected to the PCB and is supported by a first blade connector. Both the first blade connector and the first electrical contact arrangement are enclosed by the housing. The housing further defines a cable connector receiving area around the first blade connector for the receipt of a cable connector. A pair of laterally-opposed guide arm receiving cavities are integrally formed with the housing and are disposed outside of the cable connector receiving area. The guide arm receiving cavities are adapted for the receipt of guide arms from a mating cable connector.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to connectors. More particularly,the present invention relates to a storage peripheral having a robustprinted circuit board (PCB) connector configured in accordance with aSerial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) standard.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art and Related Information

[0004] Today, computers are routinely used both at work and in the home.Computers advantageously enable file sharing, the creation of electronicdocuments, the use of application specific software, and electroniccommerce through the Internet and other computer networks. Typically,each computer has a storage peripheral. For example, the most commontype of storage peripheral is a rotating media storage device (RMSD),such as a disk drive (e.g. a hard disk drive). However, other types ofstorage peripherals such as solid-state disk drive emulators utilizingflash memory are becoming increasingly common.

[0005] Disk drives are typically connected to a host computer through ahost interface connector for the transfer of commands, status and data.The host computer accesses the disk drive and reads data from the diskdrive and/or saves data to the disk drive. The disk drive is typicallyconnected to the host computer via a cable and a cable connector thatconnects to a PCB connector of the disk drive. For compatibility, theconnectors and interface protocol are standardized. Accordingly, thecable, cable connector, and PCB connector must comply with the sameinterface standard. There are several disk drive interface standards,e.g., Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) and Small Computer SystemInterface (SCSI) that have become common in the last decade.

[0006] However, disk drives are now being designed to comply with anewer standard, generally referred to as the Serial Advanced TechnologyAttachment (SATA) standard, which is the standard presently favored fornewer computers. The SATA standard is being promulgated by the SerialATA Working Group and is specifically referred to as the Serial ATA:High Speed Serialized AT Attachment specification or Serial ATA standard1.0. The SATA specification defines various general standards for SATAcompliant cable connectors, SATA compliant cables, and SATA compliantPCB connectors that mount to a printed circuit board (PCB).

[0007] The SATA PCB connector defined in the SATA specificationbasically specifies an insulated housing, a first blade connector forsupporting an electrical contact arrangement configured for datasignals, a second blade connector for supporting an electrical contactarrangement configured for power signals, and two board locks fixed tothe housing for attaching the PCB connector to a PCB. Further, the SATAPCB connector defined in the SATA specification sets forth that thehousing includes a pair of opposed guide slots in each one of twoopposite side walls of the housing that define a cable connectorreceiving area. The pair of opposed guide slots aid in guiding cable andback-plane connectors to mate with a blade connector.

[0008] Unfortunately, the blade connectors specified by the SATAstandard are prone to mechanical failure when utilizing presentlymanufactured SATA compliant cable connectors and PCB connectors.Oftentimes, the blade connector of a SATA PCB connector breaks when aSATA cable connector is mated to it. This is because mating SATA cableconnectors are not suitably constrained by the housing of the SATA PCBconnector. Furthermore, the respective electrical contact arrangementsfor power and data signals, as specified by the SATA standard, may notadequately ensure that electrostatic discharge (ESD) will beconsistently discharged with the first mate ground contact.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention relates to a storage peripheral having arobust printed circuit board (PCB) connector configured in accordancewith a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) standard.

[0010] In one aspect, the invention may be regarded as a disk drivehaving a disk for rotation within the disk drive, a moveable head forwriting and reading data to and from the disk drive, a disk controllersystem for controlling operations in the disk drive, a printed circuitboard (PCB) for mounting the disk controller system, and a housingattached to the PCB. A first electrical contact arrangement inaccordance with a SATA standard is connected to the PCB and is supportedby a first blade connector. Both the first blade connector and the firstelectrical contact arrangement are enclosed by the housing. The housingfurther defines a cable connector receiving area around the first bladeconnector for the receipt of a cable connector. At least one guide armreceiving cavity is integrally formed with the housing and is disposedoutside of the cable connector receiving area. The guide arm receivingcavity is adapted for the receipt of a guide arm from a mating cableconnector.

[0011] In one embodiment, the first electrical contact arrangement maybe configured for data signals in accordance with the SATA standard.Alternatively, in another embodiment, the first electrical contactarrangement may be configured for power signals in accordance with theSATA standard.

[0012] In a more detailed embodiment, the disk drive may include asecond blade connector having a second electrical contact arrangement inaccordance with the SATA standard. The second blade connector is alsolocated inside of the cable connector receiving area of the housing. Forexample, in one embodiment, the first electrical contact arrangement maybe configured for data signals in accordance with the SATA standard andthe second electrical contact arrangement may be configured for powersignals in accordance with the SATA standard.

[0013] In yet a more detailed embodiment, the housing may include asubstantially thickened strengthening wall disposed between the cableconnector receiving area and the guide arm receiving cavity. The guidearm receiving cavity may include a conductive surface. For example, theconductive surface may include a grounding tab. In another embodiment,the housing and the guide arm receiving cavity may be made from aconductive plastic material. Further, the guide arm receiving cavity maybe approximately rectangularly shaped. Additionally, the SATA standardmay be a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface (SAS) standard.Moreover, in further embodiments, the housing may optionally include alegacy Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) power receptacle and/or a usersection receptacle.

[0014] In another aspect, the invention may be regarded as a disk drivehaving a disk for rotation within the disk drive, a moveable head forwriting and reading data to and from the disk drive, a disk controllersystem for controlling operations in the disk drive, a printed circuitboard (PCB) for mounting the disk controller system, and a housingattached to the PCB. A first electrical contact arrangement inaccordance with a SATA standard is connected to the PCB and is supportedby a first blade connector. Both the first blade connector and the firstelectrical contact arrangement are enclosed by the housing. The housingfurther defines a cable connector receiving area around the first bladeconnector for the receipt of a cable connector. A pair oflaterally-opposed guide arm receiving cavities are integrally formedwith the housing and are disposed outside of the cable connectorreceiving area. The guide arm receiving cavities are adapted for thereceipt of guide arms from a mating cable connector.

[0015] In one embodiment, the first electrical contact arrangement maybe configured for data signals in accordance with the SATA standard.Alternatively, in another embodiment, the first electrical contactarrangement may be configured for power signals in accordance with theSATA standard.

[0016] In a more detailed embodiment, the disk drive may include asecond blade connector having a second electrical contact arrangement inaccordance with the SATA standard. The second blade connector is alsolocated inside of the cable connector receiving area of the housing. Forexample, in one embodiment, the first electrical contact arrangement maybe configured for data signals in accordance with the SATA standard andthe second electrical contact arrangement may be configured for powersignals in accordance with the SATA standard.

[0017] In yet a more detailed embodiment, the housing may includesubstantially thickened strengthening walls disposed between the cableconnector receiving area and the guide arm receiving cavities,respectively. At least one of the guide arm receiving cavities mayinclude a conductive surface. For example, the conductive surface mayinclude a grounding tab. In another embodiment, the housing and theguide arm receiving cavities may be made from a conductive plasticmaterial. Further, the guide arm receiving cavities may be approximatelyrectangularly shaped or approximately oval shaped. Also, the guide armreceiving cavities may be differently sized. Additionally, the SATAstandard may be a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface (SAS)standard. Moreover, in further embodiments, the housing may optionallyinclude a legacy Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) power receptacleand/or a user section receptacle.

[0018] In an additional aspect, the invention may be regarded as a diskdrive having a disk for rotation within the disk drive, a moveable headfor writing and reading data to and from the disk drive, a diskcontroller system for controlling operations in the disk drive, aprinted circuit board (PCB) for mounting the disk controller system, anda housing attached to the PCB. A first electrical contact arrangement inaccordance with a SATA standard is connected to the PCB and is supportedby a first blade connector and a second electrical contact arrangementin accordance with a SATA standard is connected to the PCB and issupported by a second blade connector. Both the first blade connectorand the first electrical contact arrangement and the second bladeconnector and the second electrical contact arrangement are enclosed bythe housing. The housing further defines a cable connector receivingarea around the first and second blade connectors for the receipt of atleast one cable connector. At least one guide arm receiving cavity isintegrally formed with the housing and is disposed outside of the cableconnector receiving area. The guide arm receiving cavity is adapted forthe receipt of a guide arm from a mating cable connector.

[0019] In one embodiment, the first electrical contact arrangement maybe configured for data signals in accordance with the SATA standard andthe second electrical contact arrangement may be configured for powersignals in accordance with the SATA standard.

[0020] In a more detailed embodiment, the housing may include asubstantially thickened strengthening wall disposed between the cableconnector receiving area and the guide arm receiving cavity. The guidearm receiving cavity may include a conductive surface. For example, theconductive surface may include a grounding tab. In another embodiment,the housing and the guide arm receiving cavity may be made from aconductive plastic material. Further, the guide arm receiving cavity maybe approximately rectangularly shaped. Additionally, the SATA standardmay be a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface (SAS) standard.Moreover, in further embodiments, the housing may optionally include alegacy Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) power receptacle and/or a usersection receptacle.

[0021] In another aspect, the invention may be regarded as a disk drivehaving a disk for rotation within the disk drive, a moveable head forwriting and reading data to and from the disk drive, a disk controllersystem for controlling operations in the disk drive, a printed circuitboard (PCB) for mounting the disk controller system, and a housingattached to the PCB. A first electrical contact arrangement inaccordance with a SATA standard is connected to the PCB and is supportedby a first blade connector and a second electrical contact arrangementin accordance with a SATA standard is connected to the PCB and issupported by a second blade connector. Both the first blade connectorand the first electrical contact arrangement and the second bladeconnector and the second electrical contact arrangement are enclosed bythe housing. The housing further defines a cable connector receivingarea around the first and second blade connectors for the receipt of atleast one cable connector. A pair of laterally-opposed guide armreceiving cavities are integrally formed with the housing and aredisposed outside of the cable connector receiving area. The guide armreceiving cavities are adapted for the receipt of guide arms from amating cable connector.

[0022] In one embodiment, the first electrical contact arrangement maybe configured for data signals in accordance with the SATA standard andthe second electrical contact arrangement may be configured for powersignals in accordance with the SATA standard.

[0023] In a more detailed embodiment, the housing may includesubstantially thickened strengthening walls disposed between the cableconnector receiving area and the guide arm receiving cavities,respectively. At least one of the guide arm receiving cavities mayinclude a conductive surface. For example, the conductive surface mayinclude a grounding tab. In another embodiment, the housing and theguide arm receiving cavities may be made from a conductive plasticmaterial. Further, the guide arm receiving cavities may be approximatelyrectangularly shaped or approximately oval shaped. Also, the guide armreceiving cavities may be differently sized. Additionally, the SATAstandard may be a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface (SAS)standard. Moreover, in further embodiments, the housing may optionallyinclude a legacy Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) power receptacleand/or a user section receptacle.

[0024] In yet a more detailed aspect, the invention may be regarded as astorage peripheral having a semiconductor memory for storing andretrieving data, a storage controller for controlling operations in thestorage peripheral, a printed circuit board (PCB) for mounting thestorage controller, and a housing attached to the PCB. A firstelectrical contact arrangement in accordance with a SATA standard isconnected to the PCB and is supported by a first blade connector. Boththe first blade connector and the first electrical contact arrangementare enclosed by the housing. The housing further defines a cableconnector receiving area around the first blade connector for thereceipt of a cable connector. At least one guide arm receiving cavity isintegrally formed with the housing and is disposed outside of the cableconnector receiving area. The guide arm receiving cavity is adapted forthe receipt of a guide arm from a mating cable connector.

[0025] In one embodiment, the first electrical contact arrangement maybe configured for data signals in accordance with the SATA standard.Alternatively, in another embodiment, the first electrical contactarrangement may be configured for power signals in accordance with theSATA standard.

[0026] In a more detailed embodiment, the storage peripheral may includea second blade connector having a second electrical contact arrangementin accordance with the SATA standard. The second blade connector is alsolocated inside of the cable connector receiving area of the housing. Forexample, in one embodiment, the first electrical contact arrangement maybe configured for data signals in accordance with the SATA standard andthe second electrical contact arrangement may be configured for powersignals in accordance with the SATA standard.

[0027] In yet a more detailed embodiment, the housing may include asubstantially thickened strengthening wall disposed between the cableconnector receiving area and the guide arm receiving cavity. The guidearm receiving cavity may include a conductive surface. For example, theconductive surface may include a grounding tab. In another embodiment,the housing and the guide arm receiving cavity may be made from aconductive plastic material. Further, the guide arm receiving cavity maybe approximately rectangularly shaped. Additionally, the SATA standardmay be a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface (SAS) standard.Moreover, in further embodiments, the semiconductor memory may be aflash memory array.

[0028] In yet an even more detailed aspect, the invention may beregarded as a storage peripheral having a semiconductor memory forstoring and retrieving data, a storage controller for controllingoperations in the storage peripheral, a printed circuit board (PCB) formounting the storage controller, and a housing attached to the PCB. Afirst electrical contact arrangement in accordance with a SATA standardis connected to the PCB and is supported by a first blade connector.Both the first blade connector and the first electrical contactarrangement are enclosed by the housing. The housing further defines acable connector receiving area around the first blade connector for thereceipt of a cable connector. A pair of laterally-opposed guide armreceiving cavities are integrally formed with the housing and aredisposed outside of the cable connector receiving area. The guide armreceiving cavities are adapted for the receipt of guide arms from amating cable connector.

[0029] In one embodiment, the first electrical contact arrangement maybe configured for data signals in accordance with the SATA standard.Alternatively, in another embodiment, the first electrical contactarrangement may be configured for power signals in accordance with theSATA standard.

[0030] In a more detailed embodiment, the storage peripheral may includea second blade connector having a second electrical contact arrangementin accordance with the SATA standard. The second blade connector is alsolocated inside of the cable connector receiving area of the housing. Forexample, in one embodiment, the first electrical contact arrangement maybe configured for data signals in accordance with the SATA standard andthe second electrical contact arrangement may be configured for powersignals in accordance with the SATA standard.

[0031] In yet a more detailed embodiment, the housing may includesubstantially thickened strengthening walls disposed between the cableconnector receiving area and the guide arm receiving cavities,respectively. At least one of the guide arm receiving cavities mayinclude a conductive surface. For example, the conductive surface mayinclude a grounding tab. In another embodiment, the housing and theguide arm receiving cavities may be made from a conductive plasticmaterial. Further, the guide arm receiving cavities may be approximatelyrectangularly shaped or approximately oval shaped. Also, the guide armreceiving cavities may be differently sized. Additionally, the SATAstandard may be a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface (SAS)standard. Moreover, in further embodiments, the semiconductor memory maybe a flash memory array.

[0032] The foregoing and other features of the invention are describedin detail below and set forth in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033]FIG. 1A shows a block diagram of a system including a hostcomputer connected to a storage peripheral, in which embodiments of theinvention may be practiced.

[0034]FIG. 1B shows a block diagram of a system including a hostcomputer connected to a disk drive, in which embodiments of theinvention may be practiced.

[0035]FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a cable connector for mating toa PCB connector connected to a PCB, according to one embodiment of theinvention.

[0036]FIG. 3A shows a perspective view of a cable connector having afirst blade-receiving portion that includes a first electrical contactarrangement configured for data signals in accordance with a SATAstandard, according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0037]FIG. 3B shows a perspective view of a cable connector having afirst blade-receiving portion configured for data signals in accordancewith the SATA standard and a second blade-receiving portion configuredfor power signals in accordance with the SATA standard, according to oneembodiment of the invention.

[0038]FIG. 3C shows a perspective view of a cable connector having guidearms that are approximately oval shaped, according to one embodiment ofthe invention.

[0039]FIG. 4A shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a cableconnector configured for power signals in accordance with the SATAstandard, according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0040]FIG. 4B shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a cableconnector configured for data signals in accordance with the SATAstandard, according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0041]FIG. 4C shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a cableconnector configured for data signals in accordance with the SATAstandard, according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0042]FIG. 4D shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a cableconnector configured for power signals in accordance with the SATAstandard, according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0043]FIG. 4E shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a cableconnector configured for power signals in accordance with the SATAstandard, according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0044]FIG. 4F shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a cableconnector configured for both data and power signals in accordance withthe SATA standard, according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0045]FIG. 5A shows a more detailed perspective view of the PCBconnector of FIG. 2, according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0046]FIG. 5B shows a perspective view of a PCB connector having guidearm receiving cavities that are approximately oval shaped, according toone embodiment of the invention.

[0047]FIG. 5C shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the PCBconnector, according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0048]FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram showing a pre-groundingconfiguration wherein both the data blade-receiving portion and thepower blade-receiving portion of the cable connector are configured forpre-grounding to the PCB connector, according to one embodiment of theinvention.

[0049]FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram showing a pre-groundingconfiguration wherein the data blade-receiving portion is not presentand the power blade-receiving portion of the cable connector isconfigured for pre-grounding to the PCB connector, according to oneembodiment of the invention.

[0050]FIG. 6C is a schematic diagram showing a pre-groundingconfiguration wherein the power blade-receiving portion is not presentand the data blade-receiving portion of the cable connector isconfigured for pre-grounding to the PCB connector, according to oneembodiment of the invention.

[0051]FIG. 6D shows a layout of the data and power signal contacts ofthe data and power blade connectors of the PCB connector onto the PCBand further shows grounding tabs of the guide arm receiving cavitiescoupled to ground on the PCB, according to one embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] With reference to FIG. 1A, FIG. 1A shows a block diagram of asystem including a host computer 12 connected to a storage peripheral 8,in which embodiments of the invention may be practiced. The storageperipheral 8 comprises a controller 26 having a Serial ATA (SATA)interface (not shown) connected to a SATA PCB connector 24. The storageperipheral 8 further includes a semiconductor memory 28 for data storageand retrieval. The controller 26, semiconductor memory 28, and SATA PCBconnector 24 are preferably mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) 13.The storage peripheral 8 is connectable to a host computer 12 forreceiving commands and data over a SATA cable 70 having a SATA cableconnector 22.

[0053] In one embodiment, storage peripheral 8 may emulate a disk drivewhile communicating with the host computer 12 using a SATA protocol.Semiconductor memory 28 may be a Flash memory system for providingnon-volatile storage. In another embodiment, semiconductor memory 28 maybe a large DRAM array suitable for caching data in a high performancesystem.

[0054] With reference to FIG. 1B, FIG. 1B shows a block diagram of asystem including a host computer 12′ connected to a disk drive 10, inwhich embodiments of the invention may be practiced. In this embodiment,the disk drive 10 acts as the storage peripheral. The disk drive 10includes a head disk assembly (HDA) 17 having a disk 18 and a transducerhead 20 actuated radially over the disk. The disk drive 10 furtherincludes a disk control system 25, which may include a SATA interface(not shown), and a serial ATA (SATA) PCB connector 24′. The disk controlsystem 25 responds to disk-drive commands and accesses data storagelocations on the disk 18 through the transducer head 20. The SATA PCBconnector 24′ couples the disk control system 25 to the host computer12′ when the disk drive 10 is connected to the host computer 12′ via theSATA cable 70′ and the SATA cable connector 22′.

[0055] The HDA 17 of disk drive 10 further includes a spindle motor 52for rotating the disk 18 and a voice coil motor (VCM) 54 for actuatingthe transducer head 20 radially over the disk 18. A servo controller 56generates the appropriate control signals applied to the spindle motor52 and the VCM 54 in response to commands received from the disk controlsystem 25. During a write operation the disk control system 25 transmitsuser data received from the host computer 12′ to a read/write channel58. The read/write channel 58 performs appropriate encoding of the userdata to generate write data 60 written to the disk 18. The write data 60modulates the operation of a preamp 62 to generate a write signal 64_(i) applied to the head 20 in order to write magnetic transitions ontothe surface of the disk 18. During a read operation, the head 20 detectsthe magnetic transitions representing the recorded data to generate aread signal 66, which is amplified by the preamp 62 to generate a readsignal 68 applied to the read/write channel 58. The read/write channel58 demodulates the read signal 68 into user data transmitted to the hostcomputer 12′ via disk control system 25 after correcting errors.

[0056] The disk drive 10 communicates with the host computer 12′ over aSATA cable 70′ that includes a SATA cable connector 22′ connected to theSATA PCB connector 24′ using a communication protocol defined by anindustry standard such as the Serial ATA standard 1.0. In anotherembodiment, the disk drive may communicate with the host computer usingan industry standard known as Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), whichcontemplates using cabling and circuitry originally defined in the SATAstandard.

[0057] The disk 18, spindle motor 52, VCM 54, preamp 62, and relatedhardware may be integrated into the HDA 17. The disk control system 25,SATA PCB connector 24′, semiconductor memory 28′, servo controller 56,read/write channel 58, and related electronics may be mounted on aprinted circuit board (PCB) 13′. The disk control system 25 generallyincludes circuitry and processors that control the HDA 17 and thatprovide an intelligent control interface between the host computer 12′and the HDA for execution of disk-drive commands. The disk controlsystem 25 may have an internal microprocessor and nonvolatile memory forimplementing the techniques of the invention. The semiconductor memory28′ may have nonvolatile memory and volatile random access memory (RAM).

[0058] The following discussion will describe embodiments of theinvention related to SATA cable connectors 22,22′, SATA PCB connectors24,24′ connected to PCBs 13,13′, SATA cables 70,70′, etc. It should beappreciated that the following description of SATA cable connectors,SATA PCB connectors, and SATA cables is applicable to either of thesystem environments of FIGS. 1A and 1B for a storage peripheral 8 or adisk drive 10, respectively, both of which have been previouslydescribed in detail, as well as other types of system environments.Moreover, it should be appreciated that embodiments of the SATA PCBconnectors 24 can similarly be connected to PCBs associated with a hostcomputer or back-plane such that SATA cable connectors 22 can beconnected to these PCB connectors and an interface can be provided atthe host computer or back-plane end.

[0059] With reference now to FIGS. 2 and 3A, FIG. 2 shows a perspectiveview of a cable connector 22 for mating to a PCB connector 24 connectedto a PCB 13 and FIG. 3A shows another perspective view of the cableconnector 22 having a first blade-receiving portion 212 that includes afirst electrical contact arrangement 213 configured in accordance with aSATA standard. The first electrical contact arrangement 213 of the firstblade-receiving portion 212 is configured to mate with a first bladeconnector 206 of the PCB connector having a second electrical contactarrangement (not shown) also in accordance with the SATA standard.

[0060] Particularly, in one embodiment, the cable connector 22 includesa first blade-receiving portion 212 for enclosing the first electricalcontact arrangement 213, a housing 210 for supporting the firstblade-receiving portion 212, and at least one guide arm 220 that isintegrally formed with the housing. In one embodiment, a pair oflaterally-opposed guide arms 220 are integrally formed with the housing.Also, in one embodiment, a connector-support gap 230 is formed in thehousing 210 for receiving a second blade-receiving portion 225. Further,the housing 210 has a cable entrance end 214 and a mating end 216.

[0061] At least one guide arm 220 projects from the mating end 216 ofthe housing 210 and is disposed outside of and is separate from thefirst blade-receiving portion 212. Further, in one embodiment, a pair oflaterally-opposed guide arms 220 project from the mating end 216 of thehousing 210 and are disposed outside of and are separate from the firstblade-receiving portion 212.

[0062] Also, in one embodiment, a first shielded cable 272 having afirst plurality of conductors configured in accordance with the SATAstandard may be connected to the first blade-receiving portion 212. Thefirst plurality of conductors are connected to the first electricalcontact arrangement of the first blade-receiving portion 212. Thecombination of the cable connector 22 including the firstblade-receiving portion 212 and the first shielded cable 272 connectedthereto may be referred to as cable assembly 23.

[0063] The housing 210 of the cable connector 22 is approximatelyU-shaped and has the connector-support gap 230 formed therein. The pairof laterally-opposed guide arms 220 project from the mating end 216 ofthe housing 210 and are disposed outside of and are separate from thefirst blade-receiving portion 212 and the connector-support gap 230. Thehousing 210 includes a guide slot 217 in one of two opposite sidewalls218 of the housing that aids in defining the connector-support gap 230.Further, the top portion 219 of the housing may optionally haverectangular recesses 221.

[0064] In one embodiment, the first electrical contact arrangement 213of the first blade-receiving portion 212 is configured for data signalsin accordance with the SATA standard and is particularly configured tomate with the first blade connector 206 of the PCB connector 24 having asecond electrical contact arrangement (not shown) also configured fordata signals in accordance with the SATA standard. Further, the firstshielded cable 272 having a plurality of conductors is configured fordata signals in accordance with the SATA standard and is coupled to thedata blade-receiving portion 212. The plurality of conductors of thefirst shielded cable 272 are connected to the data electrical contactarrangement 213 of the data blade-receiving portion 212.

[0065] The data blade-receiving portion 212 includes a generally oblongrectangular housing 223 for enclosing the data electrical contactarrangement 213 configured in accordance with the SATA standard. At oneend, the data blade-receiving portion 212 includes an L-shaped opening225 for receipt of the corresponding L-shaped data blade connector 206of the PCB connector 24 which has a mating data electrical contactarrangement configured in accordance with the SATA standard such thatthe data blade connector 206 properly mates with the data electricalcontact arrangement 213 of the data blade-receiving portion 212. At theother end, the data blade-receiving portion 212 receives the shieldedcable 272 having a plurality of conductors configured for data signalsin accordance with the SATA standard and the plurality of conductors areconnected to the data electrical contact arrangement 213 inside thehousing 223 of the data blade-receiving portion 212.

[0066] Further, the data blade-receiving portion 212 includes a sideguide rail 227 to mate with the PCB connector 24, as will be discussedin detail later. Also, the data blade-receiving portion 212 furtherincludes a side guide slot 229 for receipt of a guide rail 236 of thesecond blade-receiving portion 225, as will be discussed. The datablade-receiving portion 212 may be integrally molded with the housing210.

[0067] It should be appreciated that, in an alternative embodiment, thefirst electrical contact arrangement of the first blade-receivingportion may be configured for power signals in accordance with the SATAstandard and would instead mate with a blade connector of the PCBconnector likewise having an electrical contact arrangement configuredfor power signals in accordance with the SATA standard. Further, thefirst shielded cable having a plurality of conductors would beconfigured for power signals in accordance with the SATA standard. Theplurality of conductors of the first shielded cable would connected tothe power electrical contact arrangement of the power blade-receivingportion.

[0068] An example of this can be seen with reference to FIG. 4A. FIG. 4Ashows an alternative embodiment of a cable connector 422 including afirst blade-receiving portion 412 having a first electrical contactarrangement 413 configured for power signals in accordance with the SATAstandard and which is configured to mate with a blade connector of a PCBconnector likewise having an electrical contact arrangement configuredfor power signals in accordance with the SATA standard. Further, thefirst shielded cable 474 has a plurality of conductors configured forpower signals in accordance with the SATA standard. The plurality ofconductors of the first shielded cable 474 are connected to the powerelectrical contact arrangement 413 of the power blade-receiving portion412. The combination of the power cable connector 422 including thefirst blade-receiving portion 412 having the first electrical contactarrangement 413 configured for power signals and the first shieldedcable 474 configured for power signals connected thereto may be referredto as cable assembly 423. The blade-receiving portion configured forpower signals in accordance with the SATA standard will be discussed indetail later.

[0069] Continuing with reference to FIG. 2 as well as with reference toFIG. 3B, which shows a second blade-receiving portion 225, the use of asecond blade-receiving portion will now be described. As previouslydiscussed, a connector-support gap 230 is formed in the housing 210 forreceiving a second blade-receiving portion 225. The secondblade-receiving portion 225 supports a third electrical contactarrangement 232 to mate with a second blade connector 228 having afourth electrical contact arrangement (not shown) in accordance with theSATA standard.

[0070] In one embodiment, the third electrical contact arrangement 232is configured for power signals in accordance with the SATA standard andis configured to mate with the second blade connector 228 of the PCBconnector 24 having a fourth electrical contact arrangement (not shown)also configured for power signals in accordance with the SATA standard.Particularly, in this embodiment, the cable connector 22 includes asecond blade-receiving portion 225 for enclosing the power electricalcontact arrangement 232. Further, a shielded cable 274 having aplurality of conductors configured for power signals in accordance withthe SATA standard is coupled to the power blade-receiving portion 225and the plurality of conductors are connected to the power electricalcontact arrangement 232 of the power blade-receiving portion 225 insidethe power blade-receiving portion. In this embodiment, the combinationof the cable connector 22 including the data and power blade-receivingportions 212,225 and their respective first and second shielded cables272,274 (i.e. data and power shielded cables) connected thereto, may bereferred to as cable assembly 23.

[0071] For example, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3B, thefirst electrical contact arrangement 213 of the first blade-receivingportion 212 and the first shielded cable 272 may be configured for datasignals in accordance with the SATA standard to mate with the firstblade connector 206 of the PCB connector 24 having a second electricalcontact arrangement similarly configured for data signals in accordancewith the SATA standard and the third electrical contact arrangement 232of the second blade-receiving portion 225 and the second shielded cable274 may be configured for power signals in accordance with the SATAstandard to mate with the second blade connector 228 of the PCBconnector 24 having a fourth electrical contact arrangement similarlyconfigured for power signals in accordance with the SATA standard.Accordingly, the data blade-receiving portion 212 mates with the datablade connector 206 of the PCB connector 24 and the powerblade-receiving portion 225 mates with the power blade connector 228 ofthe PCB connector 24, respectively.

[0072] Looking particularly at the power blade-receiving portion 225,the power blade-receiving portion 225 includes a generally rectangularhousing 233 for enclosing the power electrical contact arrangement 232configured in accordance with the SATA standard. At one end, the powerblade-receiving portion 225 includes an L-shaped opening 235 for receiptof the corresponding L-shaped power blade connector 228 of the PCBconnector 24, which has a mating power electrical contact arrangementconfigured in accordance with the SATA standard, such that the powerblade connector 228 of the PCB connector 24 properly mates with thepower electrical contact arrangement 232 of the power blade-receivingportion 225. At the other end, the power blade-receiving portion 225receives shielded cable 274 having a plurality of conductors configuredfor power signals in accordance with the SATA standard and the pluralityof conductors are connected to the power electrical contact arrangement232 inside the housing 233 of the power blade-receiving portion 225.

[0073] Further, the power blade-receiving portion 225 includes a pair ofside guide rails. A first guide rail 234 mates with the opposed guideslot 217 of the housing 210 such that the power blade-receiving portion225 interlocks with the housing 210 of the cable connector 22 and asecond slender rectangular guide rail 236 mates with the side guide slot229 of the data blade-receiving portion 212 and interlocks with the datablade-receiving portion. In this way, by the power blade-receivingportion 225 interlocking with the housing 210 and the datablade-receiving portion 212, an integral cable connector 22 is formed.Alternatively, in another embodiment, the data blade-receiving portion212 and the power blade-receiving portion 225 may be integrally moldedwith the housing 210.

[0074] Continuing with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3B, the pair oflaterally-opposed guide arms 220 will now be discussed. As previouslydescribed, the guide arms 220 project from the mating end 216 of thehousing 210 of the cable connector 22 and are disposed outside of andare separate from the first blade-receiving portion 212 and theconnector-support gap 230. In one embodiment, the guide arms 220 areapproximately rectangularly shaped as particularly shown in FIG. 3B.Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the guide arms 220 may be differentlysized.

[0075] In one embodiment each of the guide arms 220 may include aconductive contact 237 such as a grounding clip. As will be described inmore detail later, the conductive contacts may provide pre-groundingfunctionality for one of the data or power blade-receiving portions orboth. For example, one of the conductive contacts 237 of a one of theguide arms may be coupled to a ground conductor of the first shieldedcable 272 (e.g. configured for data signals) and the other conductivecontact 237 of the other guide arm may be coupled to a ground conductorof the second shielded cable 274 (e.g. configured for power signals), aswill be discussed. Various other grounding configurations forpre-grounding and the dissipation of electro-static discharge (ESD) willalso be discussed.

[0076] Also, in one embodiment, the housing 210 and the guide arms 220may be made from a conductive plastic material such that the cableconnector 22 is conductive. For example, the plastic material mayinclude a conductive filler material. This may be referred to as theconductive cable connector embodiment.

[0077] With reference now to FIG. 3C, in another embodiment, the guidearms 221 may be approximately oval shaped. Again, as previouslydescribed, the guide arms 221 may be differently sized. Further,although not shown in FIG. 3C, each oval shaped guide arm 221 may alsoinclude a conductive contact such as a grounding clip.

[0078] Various other alternative embodiments of the previously describedcable connectors are also possible. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, inone embodiment, a cable connector 448 utilized only for data signalconnection is shown. The data cable connector 448 may include a housing452 for supporting a data blade-receiving portion 212 having anelectrical contact arrangement 213 configured for data signals inaccordance with the SATA standard. The data blade-receiving portion 212may be integrally molded with the housing 452. Further, in thisembodiment, the data cable connector 448 only includes one guide arm220. The guide arm 220 is integrally formed with the housing 452 andprojects from the mating end of the housing and is disposed outside ofand is separate from the data blade-receiving portion 212. The guide armincludes a conductive contact 237, such as a grounding clip.Alternatively, as previously discussed, the housing 452 and the guidearm 220 may be made from a conductive plastic material.

[0079] The data electrical contact arrangement 213 of the datablade-receiving portion 212 is configured to mate with the data bladeconnector 206 of the PCB connector 24 having an electrical contactarrangement also configured for data signals in accordance with the SATAstandard. Further, a shielded cable 272 having a plurality of conductorsconfigured for data signals in accordance with the SATA standard iscoupled to the data blade-receiving portion 212 and the plurality ofconductors are connected to the data electrical contact arrangement 213of the data blade-receiving portion 212 inside the data blade-receivingportion. As previously discussed, the conductive contact 237 of theguide arm 220 may be coupled to a ground conductor of the shielded datacable 272 (e.g. configured for data signals) for pre-grounding. Therectangular guide arm 220 is suitably formed for receipt by a guide armreceiving cavity of the PCB connector 24, as will be discussed. Also,the SATA standard utilized may be a SAS standard.

[0080] Further, the housing 452 may include a side guide slot 454 formating with a rectangular guide rail of another separate power cableconnector, as will be discussed.

[0081] Also, with reference to FIG. 4C, an alternative embodiment of thedata cable connector 448 is shown. In this embodiment, the data cableconnector 448 includes a second guide arm 458 that is shaped as anelongated tongue. The second elongated tongue guide arm 458 is suitablyformed for receipt by a guide arm receiving cavity of the PCB connector24 that is shaped as elongated slot, as will be discussed.

[0082] Another alternative embodiment of the previously described cableconnectors is shown in FIG. 4D. FIG. 4D shows a cable connector 460 thatis utilized only for power signal connection. The power cable connector460 may include a housing 462 for supporting a power blade-receivingportion 225 having an electrical contact arrangement 232 configured forpower signals in accordance with the SATA standard. The powerblade-receiving portion 225 may be integrally molded with the housing462. Further, in this embodiment, the power cable connector 460 onlyincludes one guide arm 220. The guide arm 220 is integrally formed withthe housing 462 and projects from the mating end of the housing and isdisposed outside of and is separate from the power blade-receivingportion 225. The guide arm includes a conductive contact 237, such as agrounding clip. Alternatively, as previously discussed, the housing 462and the guide arm 220 may be made from a conductive plastic material.

[0083] The power electrical contact arrangement 232 of the powerblade-receiving portion 225 is configured to mate with the power bladeconnector 228 of the PCB connector 24 having an electrical contactarrangement also configured for power signals in accordance with theSATA standard. Further, a shielded cable 274 having a plurality ofconductors configured for power signals in accordance with the SATAstandard is coupled to the power blade-receiving portion 225 and theplurality of conductors are connected to the power electrical contactarrangement 232 of the power blade-receiving portion 225 inside thepower blade-receiving portion. As previously discussed, the conductivecontact 237 of the guide arm 220 may be coupled to a ground conductor ofthe shielded power cable 274 (e.g. configured for power signals) forpre-grounding. The rectangular guide arm 220 is suitably formed forreceipt by a guide arm receiving cavity of the PCB connector 24, as willbe discussed. Also, the SATA standard utilized may be a SAS standard.

[0084] Further, the housing 462 may include a side guide rail 464 formating with side guide slot 454 of the data cable connector 448.

[0085] Also, with reference to FIG. 4E, an alternative embodiment of thepower cable connector 460 is shown. In this embodiment, the power cableconnector 460 includes a second guide arm 468 that is shaped as anelongated tongue. The second elongated tongue guide arm 468 is suitablyformed for receipt by a guide arm receiving cavity of the PCB connector24 that is shaped as elongated slot, as will be discussed.

[0086] An additional alternative embodiment of the previously describedcable connectors is shown in FIG. 4F. FIG. 4F shows a combined cableconnector 480 that is utilized for both data and power signal connectionand is a combination of the data cable connector 448 and the power cableconnector 460, previously discussed. The combined cable connector 480may be formed by the combination of the power and data cable connectors460,448, previously discussed, by the side guide rail 464 of the powercable connector mating with the side guide slot 454 of the data cableconnector 448 to form the combined cable connector 480. Alternatively,the combined cable connector 480 may be formed by the integral moldingof the previously described power and data cable connectors 460,448,respectively.

[0087] The combined cable connector 480 may include a housing 482 forsupporting both the data blade-receiving portion 212 having anelectrical contact arrangement 213 configured for data signals inaccordance with the SATA standard and a power blade-receiving portion225 having an electrical contact arrangement 232 configured for powersignals in accordance with the SATA standard. In this embodiment, a pairof laterally-opposed guide arms 220 are integrally formed with thehousing 482 and project from the mating end of the housing and aredisposed outside of and are separate from both the data and powerblade-receiving portions 212,225. The guide arms each include aconductive contact 237, such as a grounding clip. Alternatively, aspreviously discussed, the housing 482 and the guide arms 220 may be madefrom a conductive plastic material.

[0088] The data electrical contact arrangement 213 of the datablade-receiving portion 212 is configured to mate with the data bladeconnector 206 of the PCB connector 24 having an electrical contactarrangement also configured for data signals in accordance with the SATAstandard. Further, a shielded cable 272 having a plurality of conductorsconfigured for data signals in accordance with the SATA standard iscoupled to the data blade-receiving portion 212 and the plurality ofconductors are connected to the data electrical contact arrangement 213of the data blade-receiving portion 212 inside the data blade-receivingportion. As previously discussed, the conductive contact 237 of theguide arm 220 may be coupled to a ground conductor of the shielded datacable 272 (e.g. configured for data signals) for pre-grounding. Thepower electrical contact arrangement 232 of the power blade-receivingportion 225 is configured to mate with the power blade connector 228 ofthe PCB connector 24 having an electrical contact arrangement alsoconfigured for power signals in accordance with the SATA standard.Further, a shielded cable 274 having a plurality of conductorsconfigured for power signals in accordance with the SATA standard iscoupled to the power blade-receiving portion 225 and the plurality ofconductors are connected to the power electrical contact arrangement 232of the power blade-receiving portion 225 inside the powerblade-receiving portion. As previously discussed, the conductive contact237 of the guide arm 220 may be coupled to a ground conductor of theshielded power cable 274 (e.g. configured for power signals) forpre-grounding.

[0089] The rectangular guide arms 220 are suitably formed for receipt byguide arm receiving cavities of the PCB connector 24, as will bediscussed. Also, the SATA standard utilized may be a SAS standard.Further, in this embodiment, the combined cable connector 480 includes asecond guide arm 488 that is shaped as an elongated tongue. The secondelongated tongue guide arm 488 is suitably formed for receipt by a guidearm receiving cavity of the PCB connector 24 that is shaped as elongatedslot, as will be discussed.

[0090] With reference now to FIG. 5A in conjunction with FIG. 2, oneembodiment of the PCB connector 24 will now be described in detail. FIG.5A shows a more detailed perspective view of the PCB connector 24 ofFIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the PCB connector 24 is mounted to a printedcircuit board (PCB) 13. Mounting brackets 280 of the PCB connector 24support the PCB 13 and mounting posts 281 extend from the mountingbrackets 280 via through-holes of the PCB creating an interference fitto secure the PCB connector 24 to the PCB 13. Further, as will bediscussed many pins of the various connectors are also fixed to the PCB13 further securing the PCB connector 24 to the PCB 13.

[0091] In one embodiment, the PCB connector 24 includes a housing 270having a SATA section 265, a legacy Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE)power section receptacle 266, and a user section receptacle 268. Inother embodiments of the PCB connector 24, the housing 270 of the PCBconnector 24 may only include the SATA section 265 and the legacy IDEpower section receptacle 266 and the user section receptacle 268 may notbe present. Particularly, looking at the SATA section 265, the PCBconnector 24 includes a first blade connector 206 for supporting a firstelectrical contact arrangement 209 in accordance with a SATA standard, asecond blade connector 228 for supporting a second electrical contactarrangement 231 in accordance with the SATA standard, and the housing270 encloses the first and second blade connectors and the supportedelectrical contact arrangements. As should be appreciated, theelectrical contacts of the electrical contact arrangements of the bladeconnectors 206 and 228 are mounted to the PCB 13 via through-holes ofthe PCB 13, for example. Alternatively, other methods of mounting theelectrical contacts could be used, such as surface mount technologies.

[0092] In one embodiment, the housing 270 includes a pair of opposedguide slots 271 in each one of two opposite sidewalls of the housing 270that define a cable connector receiving area 252 around the first andsecond blade connectors 206 and 228 for the receipt of at least onecable connector, respectively. The cable connector receiving area 252 isin accordance with the SATA standard. In one embodiment, the firstelectrical contact arrangement 209 of the first L-shaped blade connector206 is configured for data signals in accordance with the SATA standardand a second electrical contact arrangement 231 of the second L-shapedblade connector 228 is configured for power signals in accordance withthe SATA standard.

[0093] However, above and beyond the cable connector receiving area 252as defined in accordance with the SATA standard, the housing 270 of thePCB connector 24 includes at least one guide arm receiving cavity 254that is integrally formed with the housing 270 and that is disposedoutside of the cable connector receiving area 252. In one embodiment,the housing 270 includes a pair of laterally-opposed guide arm receivingcavities 254 that are integrally formed with the housing 270 and thatare disposed outside the cable connector receiving area 252. The guidearm receiving cavities 254 are adapted for the receipt of the guide arms220 from the mating cable connector 22.

[0094] Further, in other embodiments, the guide arm receiving cavities254 are adapted for the receipt of guide arms 220 from the otheralternative embodiments of the mating cable connector 22 such as powersignal only cable connector 422, data signal only cable connector 448,power signal only sable connector 460, and combined data and powersignal cable connector 480. In the cases of power signal only cableconnector 422 and combined data and power signal cable connector 480,these connectors both have two laterally-opposed guide arms both ofwhich mate to the guide arm receiving cavities 254. In the cases of thedata signal only cable connector 448 and power signal only cableconnector 460, these connectors each have only one guide arm for matingwith one of the respective guide arm receiving cavities 254.

[0095] In one embodiment, the guide arm receiving cavities 254 areapproximately rectangularly shaped and may be differently sized, asparticularly shown in FIG. 5A. With brief reference to FIG. 5B, inanother embodiment, the guide arm receiving cavities 354 may beapproximately oval shaped and may also be differently sized. Furtherwith brief reference to FIG. 5C, the housing 270 of the PCB connector 24may further have an elongated slot 292 for the receipt of the secondguide arms 458, 468, and 488 of the data signal only cable connector448, the power signal only cable connector 460, and the combined dataand power signal cable connector 480, respectively, all of which areshaped as elongated tongues, as previously discussed.

[0096] Returning to FIGS. 2 and 5A, the housing 270 further includessubstantially thickened strengthening walls 260 disposed between thecable connector receiving area 252 and the guide arm receiving cavities254 making the PCB connector 24 very robust.

[0097] Accordingly, above and beyond presently manufactured cableconnectors that mate to the SATA standards defined cable connectorreceiving area of presently manufactured PCB connectors, embodiments ofthe present invention relate to a more robust SATA compliant cableconnector 22 and SATA compliant PCB connector 24 that avoid many of thebreakage problems associated with these present devices. This furtherapplies to the other disclosed alternative embodiments of cableconnector 22 such as power signal only cable connector 422, data signalonly cable connector 448, power signal only cable connector 460, andcombined data and power signal cable connector 480. With the embodimentsof present invention, one or both of the data blade-receiving portion212 and/or the power blade-receiving portion 225 mate with theirrespective data blade connector 206 and/or power blade connector 228 ofthe SATA defined cable connector receiving area 252, in which one orboth of guide rails 227,234 of the data blade-receiving portion 212and/or the power blade-receiving portion 225 mate with one or both ofthe guide slots 271 of the cable connector receiving area, respectively.

[0098] More particularly, according to embodiments of the invention, thehousing 210 of the cable connector 22 rigidly contains one or both ofthe data blade-receiving portion 212 and/or the power blade-receivingportion 225, and when the cable connector 22 is mated to the PCBconnector 24, the pair of laterally-opposed guide arms 220 of the cableconnector 22 mate with the pair of laterally-opposed guide arm cavities254 of the PCB connector 24 such that the blade-receiving portions212,225 of the cable connector mate with the blade connectors 206,228 ofthe PCB connector in an aligned and firm manner such that the commonproblems associated with the breakage of the blade connectors isavoided. This is further applicable to the other disclosed alternativeembodiments of cable connector 22 such as power signal only cableconnector 422, data signal only cable connector 448, power signal onlycable connector 460, and combined data and power signal cable connector480. However, in the case of data signal only cable connector 448 andpower signal only cable connector 460 only one guide arm mates with arespective guide arm receiving cavity.

[0099] Thus, the guide arms 220 mating with the guide arm receivingcavities 254 align the blade-receiving portions 212,225 of the variousembodiments of the disclosed cable connectors with the blade connectors206,228 of the PCB connector 24. Moreover, much of the forces associatedwith the blade-receiving portions mating to the blade connectors aretransferred to the guide arms 220, the guide arm receiving cavities 254,and the substantially thickened strengthening walls 260 of thestrengthened housing 270 of the PCB connector 24. This further reducesthe forces applied to the blade connectors to further avoid breakage.

[0100] Also, the housing 270 of the PCB connector 24 may further includea legacy Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) power section receptacle266, and a user section receptacle 268. The legacy IDE power sectionreceptacle 266 includes various legacy pins 267, such as 12 V and 5 Vpower pins and associated ground pins that are connected to the PCB 13,and that can be used for powering a storage peripheral, such as a diskdrive, instead of utilizing the SATA power blade connector.

[0101] Further, the housing 270 of the PCB connector 24 may furtherinclude a user section receptacle 268 that includes a plurality ofsquare pins 269 that are utilized to command a storage peripheral, suchas a disk drive, to operate in a plurality of different modes. In thedisk drive embodiment, the user section receptacle 268 is often used indisk drive testing. The square pins 269 of the user section receptacle228 are connected to the PCB 13.

[0102] Embodiments of the present invention for the various cableconnectors and the PCB connector 24 also provide for pre-grounding (i.e.the dissipation of electro-static discharge (ESD)). As previouslydiscussed, one or both of the guide arms 220 of the various disclosedcable connectors may include a conductive contact 237 such as agrounding clip.

[0103] As will be described in more detail later, the grounding contacts237 of the guide arms may be coupled to ground conductors of the dataand power shielded cables 272,275 connected inside of the data and powerblade-receiving portions 212,225, respectively, in order to effectuatevarious grounding configurations for pre-grounding. Further, one or bothof guide arm receiving cavities 254 may include a conductive surfacesuch as a grounding tab 264 (e.g. a metal grounding tab). Each groundingtab 264 is coupled to ground on the PCB 13 by a ground post 263,respectively. Also, it should be appreciated that either the rectangularor oval shaped guide arm receiving cavities may include conductivesurfaces for mating with a corresponding grounding contact of acorresponding rectangular or oval shaped guide arm.

[0104] Accordingly, as an example, when the cable connector 22 is matedto the PCB connector 24, the conductive contacts 237 of the guide arms220 will engage the grounding tabs 264 of the guide arm receivingcavities 254 providing pre-grounding to either one or both of the dataand/or power blade-receiving portions 212,225 before they engage withthe corresponding data and/or power blade connectors 206,228. This ofcourse applies to the other disclosed alternative embodiments of cableconnector 22 such as power signal only cable connector 422, data signalonly cable connector 448, power signal only cable connector 460, andcombined data and power signal cable connector 480. Specific examples ofthis, related to the cable connector 22 as an example, will now bedescribed.

[0105] However, in an alternative embodiment, the housing 210 and theguide arms 220 may be made from a conductive plastic material such thatthe cable connector 22 is conductive. Further, in one embodiment, thehousing 270 of the PCB connector 24 may also be made from a conductiveplastic material such that the PCB connector 24 is also conductive andcan be grounded. In this way, when the conductive cable connector 22 ismated to the conductive PCB connector 24, the guide arms 220 will firstengage the guide arm receiving cavities 254 providing pre-grounding toeither one or both of the data and/or power blade-receiving portions212,225 before they engage with the corresponding data and/or powerblade connectors 206,228. This also applies to the other disclosedalternative embodiments of cable connector 22 such as power signal onlycable connector 422, data signal only cable connector 448, power signalonly cable connector 460, and combined data and power signal cableconnector 480.

[0106] Various types of grounding configurations for pre-grounding willnow be discussed. With reference now to FIG. 6A, FIG. 6A is a schematicdiagram showing a pre-grounding configuration wherein both the datablade-receiving portion 212 and the power blade-receiving portion 225 ofthe cable connector 22 are configured for pre-grounding to the PCBconnector 24. A plurality of data SATA signal conductors 602 of the dataSATA shielded cable 272 are shown, which are located in the datablade-receiving portion 212 and are connected to the data electricalcontact arrangement 213. Particularly, a ground conductor 604 isdirectly coupled to a grounding contact 237 (e.g. a ground clip) of oneof the guide arms 220 for pre-grounding (i.e. electro-static discharge(ESD)). This is shown as line 606 (ESD-1). Further, a plurality of powerSATA signal conductors 610 of the power SATA shielded cable 274 areshown, which are located in the power blade-receiving portion 225 andare connected to the power electrical contact arrangement 232.Particularly, a ground conductor 612 is directly coupled to a groundingcontact 237 (e.g. a ground clip) of one of the guide arms 220 forpre-grounding (i.e. electro-static discharge (ESD)). This is shown asline 608 (ESD-1).

[0107] Accordingly, when the cable connector 22 is mated to the PCBconnector 24, the grounding contacts 237 of the guide arms 220 willengage the grounding tabs 264 of the guide arm receiving cavities 254providing pre-grounding to the data and power blade-receiving portions212,225 before they engage with the corresponding data and power bladeconnectors 206,228. Alternatively, in the conductive cable connector andPCB connector embodiment, the ground conductors may just be coupled tothe guide arms to provide pre-grounding. Further, it should beappreciated that this grounding configuration for pre-grounding is alsoapplicable to other disclosed alternative embodiments of cableconnectors such as the combined data and power signal cable connector480.

[0108] With reference now to FIG. 6B, FIG. 6B is a schematic diagramshowing a pre-grounding configuration wherein the data blade-receivingportion is not present and the power blade-receiving portion 225 of thecable connector 22 is configured for pre-grounding to the PCB connector24. A plurality of power SATA signal conductors 610 of the power SATAshielded cable 274 are shown, which are located in the powerblade-receiving portion 225 and are connected to the power electricalcontact arrangement 232. Particularly, a first ground conductor 611 isdirectly coupled to a grounding contact 237 (e.g. a ground clip) of oneof the guide arms 220 for pre-grounding (i.e. electro-static discharge(ESD)), which is shown as line 612 (ESD-1). Further, a second groundconductor 613 is directly coupled to a grounding contact 237 (e.g. aground clip) of one of the guide arms 220 for pre-grounding (i.e.electro-static discharge (ESD)), which is shown as line 614 (ESD-2).Accordingly, when the cable connector 22 is mated to the PCB connector24, the grounding contacts 237 of the guide arms 220 will engage thegrounding tabs 264 of the guide arm receiving cavities 254 providingpre-grounding for the power blade-receiving portion 225 before itengages with the corresponding power blade connector 228. Alternatively,in the conductive cable connector and PCB connector embodiment, theground conductors may just be coupled to the guide arms to providepre-grounding. Further, it should be appreciated that this groundingconfiguration for pre-grounding is also applicable to other disclosedalternative embodiments of cable connectors such as the power signalonly cable connector 422 and the power signal only cable connector 460.

[0109] Looking now at FIG. 6C, FIG. 6C is a schematic diagram showing apre-grounding configuration wherein the power blade-receiving portion isnot present and the data blade-receiving portion 212 of the cableconnector 22 is configured for pre-grounding to the PCB connector 24. Aplurality of data SATA signal conductors 602 of the data SATA shieldedcable 272 are shown, which are located in the data blade-receivingportion 212 and are connected to the data electrical contact arrangement213. Particularly, a first ground conductor 621 is directly coupled to agrounding contact 237 (e.g. a ground clip) of one of the guide arms 220for pre-grounding (i.e. electro-static discharge (ESD)), which is shownas line 622 (ESD-1). Further, a second ground conductor 623 is directlycoupled to a grounding contact 237 (e.g. a ground clip) of one of theguide arms 220 for pre-grounding (i.e. electro-static discharge (ESD)),which is shown as line 624 (ESD-2). Accordingly, when the cableconnector 22 is mated to the PCB connector 24, the grounding contacts237 of the guide arms 220 will engage the grounding tabs 264 of theguide arm receiving cavities 254 providing pre-grounding for the datablade-receiving portion 225 before it engages with the correspondingdata blade connector 206. Alternatively, in the conductive cableconnector and PCB connector embodiment, the ground conductors may justbe coupled to the guide arms to provide pre-grounding. Further, itshould be appreciated that this grounding configuration forpre-grounding is also applicable to other disclosed alternativeembodiments of cable connectors such as the data signal only cableconnector 448.

[0110] Turning now to FIG. 6D, FIG. 6D shows the layout of the data andpower signal contacts of the data and power blade connectors 206,228 ofthe PCB connector 24 onto the PCB 13 and further shows grounding tabs264 of the guide arm receiving cavities 254 coupled to ground on PCB 13.It should be appreciated that the grounding tabs 264 could also becoupled to a ground at another location. For example, in the disk driveembodiment, the grounding tabs could be coupled to the grounded chassisof the disk drive.

[0111] It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatalthough embodiments of the invention for cable connectors have beenpresented having only one data blade-receiving portion, only one powerblade-receiving portion, and only one data and one power blade-receivingportion that a wide variety of cable connectors having multiple types ofblade-receiving portions such as: multiple data blade-receivingportions, multiple power blade-receiving portions, and multiple data andpower blade-receiving portions, as well as other types ofblade-receiving portions are deemed to lie within the spirit and scopeof the invention.

[0112] It should further be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatalthough embodiments of the invention for cable connectors and PCBconnectors have been illustrated for use with storage peripherals, suchas disk drives, utilizing a SATA standard, such as the Serial ATA: HighSpeed Serialized AT Attachment standard or the Serial Attached SmallComputer System Interface (SAS) standard, that numerous alternativetypes of cable connectors and PCB connectors for various types ofelectronic devices utilizing differing types standards are deemed to liewithin the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:
 1. A disk drive comprising: a disk for rotation within thedisk drive; a moveable head for writing and reading data to and from thedisk; a disk controller system for controlling operations in the diskdrive; a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) for mounting the disk controllersystem; a first electrical contact arrangement in accordance with aSerial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) standard connected to thePCB; a first blade connector for supporting the first electrical contactarrangement; a housing attached to the PCB for enclosing the first bladeconnector and the first electrical contact arrangement, the housingdefining a cable connector receiving area around the blade connector forreceipt of a cable connector; and at least one guide arm receivingcavity being integrally formed with the housing and being disposedoutside the cable connector receiving area, the guide arm receivingcavity adapted for the receipt of a guide arm from a mating cableconnector.
 2. The disk drive of claim 1, wherein the first electricalcontact arrangement is configured for data signals in accordance withthe SATA standard.
 3. The disk drive of claim 1, wherein the firstelectrical contact arrangement is configured for power signals inaccordance with the SATA standard.
 4. The disk drive of claim 1, furthercomprising a second blade connector having a second electrical contactarrangement in accordance with the SATA standard, the second bladeconnector being located inside the cable connector receiving area of thehousing.
 5. The disk drive of claim 4, wherein the first electricalcontact arrangement is configured for data signals in accordance withthe SATA standard and the second electrical contact arrangement isconfigured for power signals in accordance with the SATA standard. 6.The disk drive of claim 1, wherein the housing further comprises asubstantially thickened strengthening wall disposed between the cableconnector receiving area and the guide arm receiving cavity.
 7. The diskdrive of claim 1, wherein the guide arm receiving cavity includes aconductive surface.
 8. The disk drive of claim 7, wherein the conductivesurface comprises a grounding tab.
 9. The disk drive of claim 1, whereinthe housing and the guide arm receiving cavity are made from aconductive plastic material.
 10. The disk drive of claim 1, wherein theguide arm receiving cavity is approximately rectangularly shaped. 11.The disk drive of claim 1, wherein the SATA standard is a SerialAttached Small Computer System Interface (SAS) standard.
 12. The diskdrive of claim 1, wherein the housing further comprises a legacyIntegrated Drive Electronics (IDE) power receptacle.
 13. The disk driveof claim 1, wherein the housing further comprises a user sectionreceptacle.
 14. A disk drive comprising: a disk for rotation within thedisk drive; a moveable head for writing and reading data to and from thedisk; a disk controller system for controlling operations in the diskdrive; a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) for mounting the disk controllersystem; a first electrical contact arrangement in accordance with aSerial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) standard connected to thePCB; a first blade connector for supporting the first electrical contactarrangement; a housing attached to the PCB for enclosing the first bladeconnector and the first electrical contact arrangement, the housingdefining a cable connector receiving area around the blade connector forreceipt of a cable connector; and a pair of laterally-opposed guide armreceiving cavities being integrally formed with the housing and beingdisposed outside the cable connector receiving area, the guide armreceiving cavities adapted for the receipt of guide arms from a matingcable connector.
 15. The disk drive of claim 14, wherein the firstelectrical contact arrangement is configured for data signals inaccordance with the SATA standard.
 16. The disk drive of claim 14,wherein the first electrical contact arrangement is configured for powersignals in accordance with the SATA standard.
 17. The disk drive ofclaim 14, further comprising a second blade connector having a secondelectrical contact arrangement in accordance with the SATA standard, thesecond blade connector being located inside the cable connectorreceiving area of the housing.
 18. The disk drive of claim 17, whereinthe first electrical contact arrangement is configured for data signalsin accordance with the SATA standard and the second electrical contactarrangement is configured for power signals in accordance with the SATAstandard.
 19. The disk drive of claim 14, wherein the housing furthercomprises substantially thickened strengthening walls disposed betweenthe cable connector receiving area and the guide arm receiving cavities,respectively.
 20. The disk drive of claim 14, wherein at least one ofthe guide arm receiving cavities includes a conductive surface.
 21. Thedisk drive of claim 20, wherein the conductive surface comprises agrounding tab.
 22. The disk drive of claim 14, wherein the housing andthe guide arm receiving cavities are made from a conductive plasticmaterial.
 23. The disk drive of claim 14, wherein the guide armreceiving cavities are approximately rectangularly shaped.
 24. The diskdrive of claim 14, wherein the guide arm receiving cavities areapproximately oval shaped.
 25. The disk drive of claim 14, wherein theguide arm receiving cavities are differently sized.
 26. The disk driveof claim 14, wherein the SATA standard is a Serial Attached SmallComputer System Interface (SAS) standard.
 27. The disk drive of claim14, wherein the housing further comprises a legacy Integrated DriveElectronics (IDE) power receptacle.
 28. The disk drive of claim 14,wherein the housing further comprises a user section receptacle.
 29. Adisk drive comprising: a disk for rotation within the disk drive; amoveable head for writing and reading data to and from the disk; a diskcontroller system for controlling operations in the disk drive; aPrinted Circuit Board (PCB) for mounting the disk controller system; afirst blade connector attached to the PCB for supporting a firstelectrical contact arrangement in accordance with a Serial AdvancedTechnology Attachment (SATA) standard; a second blade connector attachedto the PCB for supporting a second electrical contact arrangement inaccordance with the Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA)standard; a housing attached to the PCB for enclosing the first andsecond blade connectors and the supported electrical contactarrangements, the housing defining a cable connector receiving areaaround the first and second blade connectors for the receipt of at leastone cable connector; and at least one guide arm receiving cavity beingintegrally formed with the housing and being disposed outside the cableconnector receiving area, the guide arm receiving cavity adapted for thereceipt of a guide arm from a mating cable connector.
 30. The disk driveof claim 29, wherein the first electrical contact arrangement isconfigured for data signals in accordance with the SATA standard and thesecond electrical contact arrangement is configured for power signals inaccordance with the SATA standard.
 31. The disk drive of claim 29,wherein the housing further comprises a substantially thickenedstrengthening wall disposed between the cable connector receiving areaand the guide arm receiving cavity.
 32. The disk drive of claim 29,wherein the guide arm receiving cavity includes a conductive surface.33. The disk drive of claim 32, wherein the conductive surface comprisesa grounding tab.
 34. The disk drive of claim 29, wherein the housing andthe guide arm receiving cavity are made from a conductive plasticmaterial.
 35. The disk drive of claim 29, wherein the guide armreceiving cavity is approximately rectangularly shaped.
 36. The diskdrive of claim 29, wherein the SATA standard is a Serial Attached SmallComputer System Interface (SAS) standard.
 37. The disk drive of claim29, wherein the housing further comprises a legacy Integrated DriveElectronics (IDE) power receptacle.
 38. The disk drive of claim 29,wherein the housing further comprises a user section receptacle.
 39. Adisk drive comprising: a disk for rotation within the disk drive; amoveable head for writing and reading data to and from the disk; a diskcontroller system for controlling operations in the disk drive; aPrinted Circuit Board (PCB) for mounting the disk controller system; afirst blade connector attached to the PCB for supporting a firstelectrical contact arrangement in accordance with a Serial AdvancedTechnology Attachment (SATA) standard; a second blade connector attachedto the PCB for supporting a second electrical contact arrangement inaccordance with the Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA)standard; a housing attached to the PCB for enclosing the first andsecond blade connectors and the supported electrical contactarrangements, the housing defining a cable connector receiving areaaround the first and second blade connectors for the receipt of at leastone cable connector; and a pair of laterally-opposed guide arm receivingcavities being integrally formed with the housing and being disposedoutside the cable connector receiving area, the guide arm receivingcavities adapted for the receipt of guide arms from a mating cableconnector.
 40. The disk drive of claim 39, wherein the first electricalcontact arrangement is configured for data signals in accordance withthe SATA standard and the second electrical contact arrangement isconfigured for power signals in accordance with the SATA standard. 41.The disk drive of claim 39, wherein the housing further comprisessubstantially thickened strengthening walls disposed between the cableconnector receiving area and the guide arm receiving cavities,respectively.
 42. The disk drive of claim 39, wherein at least one ofthe guide arm receiving cavities includes a conductive surface.
 43. Thedisk drive of claim 42, wherein the conductive surface comprises agrounding tab.
 44. The disk drive of claim 39, wherein the housing andthe guide arm receiving cavities are made from a conductive plasticmaterial.
 45. The disk drive of claim 39, wherein the guide armreceiving cavities are approximately rectangularly shaped.
 46. The diskdrive of claim 39, wherein the guide arm receiving cavities areapproximately oval shaped.
 47. The disk drive of claim 39, wherein theguide arm receiving cavities are differently sized.
 48. The disk driveof claim 39, wherein the SATA standard is a Serial Attached SmallComputer System Interface (SAS) standard.
 49. The disk drive of claim39, wherein the housing further comprises a legacy Integrated DriveElectronics (IDE) power receptacle.
 50. The disk drive of claim 39,wherein the housing further comprises a user section receptacle.
 51. Astorage peripheral comprising: a semiconductor memory for storing andretrieving data; a storage controller for controlling operations in thestorage peripheral; a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) for mounting thestorage controller; a first electrical contact arrangement in accordancewith a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) standard connectedto the PCB; a first blade connector for supporting the first electricalcontact arrangement; a housing attached to the PCB for enclosing thefirst blade connector and the first electrical contact arrangement, thehousing defining a cable connector receiving area around the bladeconnector for receipt of a cable connector; and at least one guide armreceiving cavity being integrally formed with the housing and beingdisposed outside the cable connector receiving area, the guide armreceiving cavity adapted for the receipt of a guide arm from a matingcable connector.
 52. The storage peripheral of claim 51, wherein thefirst electrical contact arrangement is configured for data signals inaccordance with the SATA standard.
 53. The storage peripheral of claim51, wherein the first electrical contact arrangement is configured forpower signals in accordance with the SATA standard.
 54. The storageperipheral of claim 51, further comprising a second blade connectorhaving a second electrical contact arrangement in accordance with theSATA standard, the second blade connector being located inside the cableconnector receiving area of the housing.
 55. The storage peripheral ofclaim 54, wherein the first electrical contact arrangement is configuredfor data signals in accordance with the SATA standard and the secondelectrical contact arrangement is configured for power signals inaccordance with the SATA standard.
 56. The storage peripheral of claim51, wherein the housing further comprises a substantially thickenedstrengthening wall disposed between the cable connector receiving areaand the guide arm receiving cavity.
 57. The storage peripheral of claim51, wherein the guide arm receiving cavity includes a conductivesurface.
 58. The storage peripheral of claim 57, wherein the conductivesurface comprises a grounding tab.
 59. The storage peripheral of claim51, wherein the housing and the guide arm receiving cavity are made froma conductive plastic material.
 60. The storage peripheral of claim 51,wherein the guide arm receiving cavity is approximately rectangularlyshaped.
 61. The storage peripheral of claim 51, wherein the SATAstandard is a Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface (SAS)standard.
 62. The storage peripheral of claim 51, wherein thesemiconductor memory is a flash memory array.
 63. A storage peripheralcomprising: a semiconductor memory for storing and retrieving data; astorage controller for controlling operations in the storage peripheral;a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) for mounting the storage controller; afirst electrical contact arrangement in accordance with a SerialAdvanced Technology Attachment (SATA) standard connected to the PCB; afirst blade connector for supporting the first electrical contactarrangement; a housing attached to the PCB for enclosing the first bladeconnector and the first electrical contact arrangement, the housingdefining a cable connector receiving area around the blade connector forreceipt of a cable connector; and a pair of laterally-opposed guide armreceiving cavities being integrally formed with the housing and beingdisposed outside the cable connector receiving area, the guide armreceiving cavities adapted for the receipt of guide arms from a matingcable connector.
 64. The storage peripheral of claim 63, wherein thefirst electrical contact arrangement is configured for data signals inaccordance with the SATA standard.
 65. The storage peripheral of claim63, wherein the first electrical contact arrangement is configured forpower signals in accordance with the SATA standard.
 66. The storageperipheral of claim 63, further comprising a second blade connectorhaving a second electrical contact arrangement in accordance with theSATA standard, the second blade connector being located inside the cableconnector receiving area of the housing.
 67. The storage peripheral ofclaim 66, wherein the first electrical contact arrangement is configuredfor data signals in accordance with the SATA standard and the secondelectrical contact arrangement is configured for power signals inaccordance with the SATA standard.
 68. The storage peripheral of claim63, wherein the housing further comprises substantially thickenedstrengthening walls disposed between the cable connector receiving areaand the guide arm receiving cavities, respectively.
 69. The storageperipheral of claim 63, wherein at least one of the guide arm receivingcavities includes a conductive surface.
 70. The storage peripheral ofclaim 69, wherein the conductive surface comprises a grounding tab. 71.The storage peripheral of claim 63, wherein the housing and the guidearm receiving cavities are made from a conductive plastic material. 72.The storage peripheral of claim 63, wherein the guide arm receivingcavities are approximately rectangularly shaped.
 73. The storageperipheral of claim 63, wherein the guide arm receiving cavities areapproximately oval shaped.
 74. The storage peripheral of claim 63,wherein the guide arm receiving cavities are differently sized.
 75. Thestorage peripheral of claim 63, wherein the SATA standard is a SerialAttached Small Computer System Interface (SAS) standard.
 76. The storageperipheral of claim 63, wherein the semiconductor memory is a flashmemory array.